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Licensing

Readable first.
Precise underneath.

Blacksite is source-available, not open source. Qualifying noncommercial use is covered by PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0. Business, paid, client, and other commercial use needs a written commercial license.

Ask about your use case Commercial pricing

Choose the document for your situation

Most readers need only the first two documents: the license itself and the plain-language commercial overview. The longer agreements are published for transparency and are clearly marked where legal review is still pending.

PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0

The canonical noncommercial grant. Free for personal projects, research, study, hobby work, and qualifying noncommercial organizations. This is the authority on where the boundary falls.

In force

Commercial Licensing overview

The quickest answer to “do I need a license?”, how flexible commercial pricing works, and what is helpful to include when starting a conversation.

In force

Commercial Evaluation License

The 30-day commercial evaluation grant. Nonproduction internal testing only, defined at company level — reinstalling, changing users, using an affiliate, or moving to a new release does not restart the period.

Draft

Commercial Software License Agreement

The paid commercial agreement: grant, restrictions, ownership, third-party services, security responsibilities, fees, warranties, liability, and term — plus an Order Form template as Schedule A.

Draft

Contributor License Agreement

The copyright and patent rights granted with a contribution, which are what make dual licensing possible. Includes the representations contributors make about third-party and AI-generated material.

Draft

On the drafts. The evaluation, commercial, and contributor agreements are drafts pending legal review — governing law, venue, and the licensing entity are not yet set. They describe the intended terms accurately and are published so you can read them before starting a conversation, but they should not be executed until counsel has reviewed them and those fields are filled.

Common questions

The parts people
ask about.

Short answers. The license text governs in every case where these differ from it.

Does a fork, clone, or download give me commercial rights?
No. A GitHub fork, clone, download, package installation, marketplace installation, contribution, or evaluation does not create a commercial license. Commercial rights exist only under a written license issued or accepted by the licensor.
My company is a startup with no revenue yet. Do we need a license?
Yes, if the use has an anticipated commercial application — which building a product you intend to sell does. Company size and current revenue do not change the analysis. The 30-day evaluation exists so you can try it first.
Does Blacksite claim any rights over the code I write with it?
No. You own the code and materials you create with assistance from the software, subject to any rights of the model providers or other third-party services you connect. The licensor does not claim ownership of your project code merely because Blacksite was used to help create it.
How is commercial pricing measured?
There is no single public metric imposed on every use case. Named people, concurrent automation, a site-wide arrangement, or another practical measure can be discussed. The written order form records the scope and pricing both sides actually agreed to.
Can contractors be covered?
Contractor use can be included while they perform services for you, subject to the confidentiality, use, and license-scope terms in the commercial agreement and order form. Mention contractors during the pricing conversation so the written scope is unambiguous.
Can we use it on client work?
Yes — you may develop, test, maintain, review, and deliver work product for your clients. What you may not do without an explicit grant is transfer, sublicense, host, or otherwise make the software itself available to a client. Client personnel who use it directly need to be covered by your seats or their own license.
Air-gapped or regulated environment?
Welcome, and worth mentioning up front. Blacksite has no server component and collects no telemetry, which removes most of the usual friction, but license administration and update delivery need to be arranged deliberately in a disconnected environment.
Do you offer IP indemnification?
Only if expressly stated in an order form, subject to the scope, exclusions, and liability cap stated there. Ask if you need it; it is a negotiable term rather than a default one.

Model costs are yours

Bring your own key. Your provider bills you for tokens directly, and nothing is proxied. A Blacksite license covers the tool, not inference.

Contributing

External contributions need the CLA accepted, because dual licensing requires the rights it grants. Disclose third-party and AI-generated material where it applies.

Third-party components

Blacksite depends on third-party software governed by its own notices. Those terms control their components only, and required notices are made available with the source.

Talk to a person

If your situation is
close to the line, ask.

You do not need to translate your situation into legal language. Tell us who would use Blacksite and what for; most licensing questions can be placed with a short conversation.

mgriffith@blacksite-agent.com Read the license text